Mechanism for forcing sliding doors open and closed



Eepi. 13, m 5. B. HASELTHNE. 2,481,590

MECHANISM FOR FORCING SLIDING DOORS OPEN AND CLOSED Filed June 20, 1947 2 'Sheef's-Sheet 1 Ira/e 72/62".- Slegy .B. HaseZj i/ne Sept. 13, 1949.

S. B. HASELTINE MECHANISM FOR FORCING SLIDING DOORS OPEN AND CLOSED Filed June 20, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I. 45 We:

Invenjr:

Patented Sept. 13, 1949 LIECHANISM FOR FORCING SLIDING DOORS OPEN AND CLOSED I Stacy B. Haseltine, La. Grange, Ill., assignor to W, H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June 20, 1947, Serial No. 756,019

forcing the same tightly closed or prying the same partly open.

One object of the invention is to provide in a sliding doorstructure'for railway. cars, wherein the door is supported on swinging crank arms slidableon, tracks extending lengthwise of the car, a rotary operating bar mounted on the door and having keeper engaging means thereon for forcing the door into and out of the door opening,.the rotary bar also serving to actuate certain of the supporting crank arms to swing the same in door openin and closing direction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph, wherein the operating barand crank arms have cooperating means thereon for locking the arms in position to hold the ,door spaced from the wall of the car as the same'is slid along the supporting tracks A still further object. of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character hereinbefore set forth, wherein the operating bar is provided with keeper engaging means which also serves as means for transmitting motion from 'theoperating bar'to the supporting crank arms to swing the same in door openingand closing directions.

Other objects of the invention willmore clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following. 7 v a In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure l 'is an elevational View of a portion 'of one sidewall ofa railway car provided with a door openinggclosed by a sliding door, illustrating my improvements in connection therewith. Figure 2 isa horizontal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, partly broken away, corresponding substantially to' the line 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged elevational view of the mechanism at the right hand lower corner section of the door, illustrated in Figure 1 said view being partly broken away, the lower keeper being omitted, and the cover plate of the lower bearingbracket being removed. Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View, corresponding substantially to the line 4-4 ofFigure 3. Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to theline 55 of Figure 3, said view showing the lower keeper, Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, with the keeper omitted, and showing the positions assumed by the parts when the door supporting crank member has been swung outwardly. Figure 7 is a transverse, verti- 7 Claims. (01. 20-23) cal sectional view through the crank arm of the door supporting crank member, said view corresponding substantially to the line 1-1 of Fig.-

ure 5.

In said drawings, my improved mechanism is disclosed as employed in connection with a wellknown slidin door structure, comprising a slidin door it) adapted to close the door opening il in the side wall l2 of a railway car, the door being supported at its front or leading end by'swingi'ng crank members l3-l3guided for sliding movement lengthwise of the car on top and bottom tracks i4 and 55, the front or leading end of the door being tiltable toward and away from the car and having forwardly projecting, top and bottom lugs Hi-l6 having wedging engagement with keepers |'ll1 mounted on the wall of the car to cam the leading end of the door into the door opening. In carrying out my invention, I provide broadly a vertically disposed operating bar A at the rear end of the door l0, an actuating handle lever B for the bar, keeper engaging end members C and D, at the top and bottom ends of the bar, top and bottom supporting guide or bearingbrackets E and F, top and bottom keepers G and H, and top and bottom crank members J and K supporting the door for sliding movement on the tracks [4 and l5. s

The operating bar A is of the usual well-known design, being of rectangular, transverse cross section and having the keeper engaging end members C and D fixed to the upper and lower ends thereof. As is common practice, the end members are forked to embrace the end portions of the bar and are riveted to the same. The operating handle lever B is of the type commonly employed, being pivoted to the bar A to be dropped to pendant position when the door has been forced open and adapted to be locked in place by the usual latch it when the door is closed.

The end members C and D are of similar design, each being provided with a keeper engaging head portion l9 at the outer end and a cylindrical shank 20, intermediate the head [9 andtheforked inner end thereof, which is J'ournaled in the corresponding bearing bracket E or F. The keeper engaging head 19 of each end member has a pair of circumferentially spaced, radially projecting lugs 2| and 22 thereon, the lug 2| being in the form of a cam member, which cooperates with the corresponding keeper, as hereinafter pointed out, and the lug 22 being in the form of arounded tooth. Both'of the lugs 2! and 22 of each end member function as gear teeth to transmit mo cylindrical shank 23 journaled in the corresponding bearing vbracket E .or F and an arm 2% extween the rounded endedge 42; and the ,nose 43, the edge of the lug 2%! is substantially straight tending radially from the outer end of the shank,

the arm 24 being of the cross section shown in Figure '7 and having the usual crank pin at the outer end thereof. The crank pin of the arm 24. of the upper crank member J has the usualrotler 25 journaled thereon and guided in the upper track M, which is of channelqshaped frm, ..and

' the crank pin of the lower crank member K. is

journaled in a carrier 26 of well-known design,

arranged to slide lengthwise on the lower track I5.

The top and bottom bearing brackets E and.

F are of similar design, each bracket comprising a fmnt plate 21 and a back plate 2.8. The back plate 28 of each. bracket is provided with ancutwardly ofiset, central section .29, and the front plate 21 of each bracket has an outwardly offset section 30 which is engaged over the section29. The. plates of each bracket are clamped together by .a bolt 3]., which extends through the.

oifset central portions of the plates, and each bracket is fixed to the door In by securing. elements .32 32 extendin through the plates there.- r of and into the body of the door, the elements 32 thus. also serving to clamp the plates together. Each bracket is provided with a pair of verti .cally extending, laterally spaced bores or bear ing, openings 33. and 34, which. are formed partly in. each plate by half bearing seats. The bore .01 hearing opening 31! of each bracket extends from top to bottom thereof and has the shank 20 of the corresponding end member rotatably supnortedtherein The top and bottom brack-ets thus ,rotatably support the operatin bar A on the 3 door In. The bore or hearing opening 3.3, or each bracket terminates short of the inner end of the same and has the shank 2.3. of the corresponding crank member J or K rotatably supported there 5 To hold the shank 2.3 of the crank member against displacement and support said crank member a ainst end-wise movement, the sarneis provided with an annular groove 35 at the exnemity' thereof, within which is engaged an inf wardly projecting, annular rib 135,-. in the-bone bearin 33-, formed partly on each plate of the bracket. g 7

At the inner end thereof, each crank member J, and K is provided with a pair of'eircuinfenen;

tially spaced lugs 36 .and 3l, which extend rat dially to the, axis of notation of the shank of the crank member and are adapted to mesh in the manner .of gear teeth with the lugs 2| and 2?, of thecorrespondingkeeper engaging end member of the operating bar to receive rotary motion from the bar. 7

The top and bottom keepers G and with which thekeeper engaging end members 0 and]? cooperate, are of similar design, each keeper 7 being in the form of a casting provided with a laterally opening cam slot or seat 38., within which the cam lug 2| of the corresponding. end

member is engageable. The cam seatfidpresents :Ihe lug 21 of the keeper engaging end member is relatively wide, beingof the contour most clearly directionas seen inFlgures 4 and 5..

Show inEigiures 5 and 6, and havin straight :Zli

4 rear edge 4| merging with a rounded end portion 42, as seen in Figure 5, adapted to have engagement with the flat wall 39 of the keeper to force the door outwardly, and a nose 43 at its forward side adapted to have camming engagement with the inclined wall 40 to cam the door closed. ,Be-

and flat, as indicated at 44. The edge is designed to have fiat faced'engag'ement with the As hereinbefore stated, the lugs 2| and 22 of each end- -member are designed to'mesh with the lugsifi and 31 of the corresponding crank member to impart rotation to the latter, the lug 22 engaging with the lug 73,1, and the lug 2] engaging with the lug 36.- ".A shown. in Figure 6; each crank member is provided with an arcuatefiange portion ll5'extending from the outer .sidegq lt hi lug 36 to the outer side of the lug 31, the end of the flan e jacent the lu 3.6,.being flattened, as indicated at 46, said fiattened hortionforminga stop face engageable by the 111g 21 of i fi. corre- SDOnding k ep r a ng .end..member' to. limit rota i n of th operating barandi also limit swinging movement of the'corresponding crank member. V,

The operation of my improved mechanism is as follows: Assuming the. door is in the closedposition shown in Figures. 1, 2, .3, and 5., thelevler B, after being unlocked by disengaging. the lat h I8, is swung. ,fromjleft to right through an, arc of 180 degrees thereby imparting'rotation to the same extent to the bar A and the keeper engaging; and members C and Din contraclockwise The keepe er engaging cam lugs 2 .l 2.l oi the end members are thus-swung a ainstthe rear walls. 39*:39. of the keepers G and H to. eflect outward camming action, thereby prying. the. rear. end for the. doorut of the door op ning... .In thus. heinefmoiled, the door swings about .itsfront. end -153i rocking sliding. movement. of the. lugs l6.l 61in thefixed ke pers llthe lugs. and keepers I tend. I l

acting as. separable hinge members. Upon ro tation of the bar A, through .an arc ofapproxie mately degrees, the lugs 21' and 22 of the keep er engagin endmembers. Q and D come into 'of the crank members J andK, The bar A. is

then locked against rotation by swinging the lever B to pendant position into engagement with the usual latch plate 41, as shown indotted lines in Figure 1, thereby locking thecr-ank members a ainst further swinging movement and main.- taining the latter in their right an ular.- position with respect to thetside wallet the car.

To further open the doorand movev the, same beyond the door opening, it, isi-m-anuallyaslidsto the right from the position shownn .E snresil and 2. 1 .a

In closing the door, the attendant slides the same in front of the door opening, the front end of the door being swung inwardly and the lugs l6-l6 thereof into engagement with the keepers |1-|l in the usual well-known manner. After the door has been thus positioned, the bar A is rotated by the operating lever 13, thereby rotating the crank members J and K through the medium of the interengaged lugs 2| and 22 of the end members and 36 and 3'! of the crank members, swinging the crank members to displace the door inwardly toward the door opening, the bar being rotated in a direction reverse to the rotation thereof during opening movements of the door. The rear end of the door is thus swung inwardly, bringing the keeper engaging cam lugs 2 l-Zl of the bar into operative engagement with the keepers G and H and at the same time unmeshing the lu s 21 and 22 and 35 and 3'6. The crank members J and K being thus disconnected for operation by the bar A, further rotation of the bar efiects independent operation of the keeper engaging cam lugs 2l-2l to cam the door inwardly by engagement with the walls 4646 of the keepers G and H.

I claim:

1. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and guide tracks above and below the door opening extending lengthwise of said wall, the combination with top and bottom crank members guided for sliding movement on said tracks and rotatably journaled on the door; of a vertically disposed operating bar rotatably mounted on the door; keepers fixed to the wall of the container above and below the door opening; and interengageable sets of top and bottom radial lugs on said crank members and bar for transmitting rotary motion from the bar to the crank members, one of the lugs of each top and bottom set of said bar being engageable with the corresponding keeper for forcing the door into and out of the door opening.

2. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door openingand a guide track extending lengthwise of said wall member, the combination with a crank member guided for sliding movement lengthwise of said track and rotatably journaled on the door for supporting the same; of a rotary operating bar journaled on the door; a keeper fixed to said wall member; and interengageable sets of radial lugs on said crank member and bar for transmitting rotary motion from the bar to the crank member, one of said lugs of said bar having camming engagement with the keeper for forcing said door into and out of the door opening.

3. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and guide tracks above and below the door opening extending lengthwise of said wall, the combination with top and bottom crank members guided for sliding movement on said tracks and rotatably journaled on the door; of a vertically disposed operating bar rotatably mounted on the door; keepers fixed to the wall of the container above and below the door opening; top and bottom, radially projecting keeper engaging lugs on said bar engageable with said keepers for forcing the door into and out of the door opening; additional top and bottom, radial lugs on said bar circumferentially spaced from said first named lugs; and top and bottom,

circumferentially spaced lugs on said crank members engageable by the first and second named lugs of the bar to receive rotary motion from said bar.

4. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and a guide track extending lengthwise of said wall member, the combination with a crank member guided for sliding movement lengthwise of said track and rotatably journaled on the door for supporting the same; of a rotary operating bar journaled on the door; a keeper fixed to said wall member; a radial cam lug on said bar engageable with the keeper for forcing said door into and out of the door opening; a second radial lug on said bar circumferentially spaced from said first named lug; and radially projecting, circumferentially spaced lugs on said crank member engageable by said first and second named lugs of the bar to receive rotary motion from said bar.

5. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and guide tracks above and below the door opening extending lengthwise of said wall, the combination with top and bottom crank members guided for sliding movement on said tracks and swingingly journaled on the door to support the same; of a vertically disposed operating bar rotatably journaled on the door; top and bottom keepers on the container above and below said door opening; keeper engaging cam members on the top and bottom of said bar engageable with the keepers for forcing the door into and out of the door opening; and locking faces on said cam members engageable with said crank members for limiting swinging movement of the latter.

6. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and guide tracks above and below the door opening extending lengthwise of said wall, the combination with top and bottom crank members guided for sliding movement on said tracks and swingingly journaled on the door to support the same; of a vertically disposed operating bar rotatably journaled on the door; interengaging means on said bar and crank members for transmitting rotary motion from the bar to said crank members; top and bottom keepers on the container above and below said door opening; keeper engaging cam members on the top and bottom of said bar engageable with the keepers for forcing the door into and out of the door opening; and locking faces on said cam members engageable with said crank members for limiting swinging movement of the latter.

7. In a door operating mechanism for a sliding door of a container having a wall member provided with a door opening and a guide track extending lengthwise of said wall member, the combination with a, crank member guided for sliding movement lengthwise of said track and swingingly journaled on the door; of a rotary operating bar journaled on the door; a keeper fixed to said wall member; a keeper engaging cam lug on said bar engageable with the keeper for forcing said door into and out of the door opening; and stop means on said cam lug engageable with said crank member for limiting swinging movement of the latter.

STACY B. HASELTINE.

No references cited. 

